His name is
by FallaciousTiger
Summary: A sort of imagined backstory for Scorpion that ties into MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero.


It was cold as death. The ruins of the village lay smoldering, corpses scattered about. There was no sign of life, not even the wind moved. The only sign of recent activity were the still barely-flickering flames. A lone figure stepped through the rubble, in his hand a bloody sword he gripped. He was masked and garbed in yellow, which was singed and soiled with dirt and wet with blood. This man's name was...

"General Hanzo!" The man turned at the sound of his name as another man who also bore the signs of a recent battle, ran up to him, stumbling over a wooden beam as he made his way forward.

"Takeda."

"General Hanzo, this has been a diversion! We must flee quickly, the Lin Kuei-" The Shira Ryu's warning was cut short as a whistle and thwack penetrated the cold, thin air. With an anguished cry, Takeda dropped to one knee, clawing at his back which now had an arrow buried in it.

"Takeda!" Hanzo knelt quickly to help his man up.

"General, you must leave me! The Lin Kuei... they approach...! Sub-Zero-"

"Silence! We will speak later." Hanzo hefted Takeda up as more arrows flew in their direction, followed by three blue-clad warriors, two of which wielded bows.

"You cannot escape as long as you carry me." Takeda had a steely glint in his eyes. Then, before Hanzo Hasashi could react, the warrior had drawn a tanto blade and plunged it into his stomach, moving it swiftly across and upward with a pained grunt.

Takeda looked up pleadingly, sweat beading his brow. "To... the temple..." He rasped. His face fell into the snow, and he moved no more.

Hanzo regretted the death of his subordinate- Takeda had been a close friend. But he knew he had a mission to do. Quan Chi had retained the Shirai Ryu's services to find a certain artifact in a temple in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal, and he could not do so if he were to be slain here and now by members of his rival clan.

Ducking as more arrows flew in his direction, he twisted away and drew an arrow, nocking it, and firing. One of the enemy's heads snapped back as the arrow hit him between the eyes. The other fired, but Hanzo had vanished into the darkness of the surrounding trees, near the outskirts of the village.

"Sub-Zero shall not have the map of elements. I will see to that personally," Hanzo thought grimly.

Some days later, as he arrived at the top of the mountain and looked at the temple which loomed over him, Scorpion felt a sense of foreboding. "At the very least, he does not know that I am after this map. I will get to it before his inferior clan are able to take possession and hoard this artifact," Scorpion's thoughts rocked about in his own head, driving him onward.

He entered the main room but stopped, sensing the presence of another drawing near. He quickly scaled the opposite wall, clinging to the ceiling, waiting to see who would arrive. Sure enough, it was Bi-Han, the one known by most as Sub-Zero. Dropping from the ceiling, he landed in front of the Lin Kuei, who let no emotion show on his face- if he was surprised, it did not show.

"You will fail," Hanzo sneered, running from the room, leaving Sub-Zero behind.

He made his way through the temple, brutally slaying any warrior monks who dared to cross his path. Hanzo fought with the brutality, cold-bloodedness and determination borne of a life-time of ninja training. He deftly avoided any deathtraps, dashing beneath the smashing pillars and leaping over the trap doors.

Eventually, he came face-to-face with Sub-Zero once again. He suspected it would come to this. A battle between opposing clans for the Map of Elements.

They fought.

Blow after blow, the two ninjas fought. Kick, parry, punch. Hanzo took care to avoid the Lin Kuei's ice blast, but eventually was still worn down. Dazed, he stumbled upwards. There was a piercing, burning sensation in his neck and he knew no more.

He awoke once again. With a scream, he turned on the spot and looked upwards, then around. He felt as though every inch of him was on fire, and now he saw why- he was. The pain slowly subsided and he saw he was in the Netherrealm.

"Scorpion, I am disappointed." Quan Chi stepped towards him. They were in one of the barren cities on one of the upper plains of the Netherrealm. All around them, black-clad brothers of Shadow strode to and fro, going about their daily business. Other, deformed creatures- some humanoid, some ogre- loped about with the sort of movements you might expect from a zombie. Screams occasionally echoed in the distance and the very air itself seemed to burn.

Hanzo turned around to see the sorcerer, who spoke again: "You have failed to retrieve the map of elements, Scorpion. Your honour is cut into ribbons." Scorpion's temper flared, "DO NOT TEST ME, SORCERER!"

Quan Chi raised his hands in a non-threatening manner. "I am not here to fight, but to give you a second chance. Sub-Zero and his clan have slain your village and your family, the Shirai Ryu are no more. In return for your servitude, I will help you avenge your fallen comrades."

Scorpion considered this. Within him burned a fury so intense, so insatiable, he felt as though he would burst into flames again. "Sub-Zero," He hissed in a barely-controlled, venemous utterance, "YOU WILL PAY!"

As it later turned out, Sub-Zero himself had come to the Netherrealm for reasons unknown to the ninja spectre. Thrown into a cell, he stood up and looked through the bars.

"Don't bother worrying about escape." Sub-Zero turned to the voice of the Shirai Ryu warrior.

"Who are you?"

"I am a dead man. But somehow you have retained your mortality, which would mean you are vulnerable to death."

Sub-Zero froze. "Wait... I know that voice."

"Yessss... I am Scorpion. You killed me in cold blood!"

"I had no choice. If I had not stolen that map, then I would be the dead one!"

"But my family and clan would still be alive!" Scorpion retorted.

"What?"

"It wasn't enough to kill me," Scorpion hissed, "You had to destroy every last remnant of my being... including my wife and child!"

Sub-Zero hastily replied, "You're mistaken. Quan Chi is responsible for their deaths!"

But Scorpion's eyes, which were now a blank white, showed no doubt. "Words will not save you, Lin Kuei warrior... Prepare for your final battle! GET OVER HERE!" 


End file.
